A Snow Covered Nightmare: Refuge Series Book Two by Debbie Zello (26)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Briah got to work on time, in spite of her early morning visitor, or maybe because of it. If Aiden had had his way, they would have been making love, instead of having coffee and conversation with Cindy. Briah knew this, naturally, by the disappointed look on his face when she walked into the bedroom after Cindy had left.

He was stalling, and hadn’t even dressed yet. He had been in the bedroom at least ten minutes while Briah said good-bye to Cindy. There he was, sitting on the edge of the bed with the lonely puppy-dog look on his overly handsome face. Briah took one look at him and said, “Oh no you don’t! I’m not going to be late to work on Christmas Eve, mister. Get that completely out of your head right now!”

“I promise, I’ll be quick,” he pleaded.

“Well, thanks for that. You’ll be quick. I’ll be nothing except stinky and sweaty, and then I can go to work and spend the day that way. Thanks, but no thanks!” Briah said, as her voice attained a squeaky quality at the end. Her declaration was met with a dejected look from Aiden. Briah threw her hands up and walked into the bathroom to wash up.

The bedroom was empty when she finished in the bathroom. She was somewhat sad, as sparring with Aiden over sex, was one of the things she missed about having him around. Aiden was ready anytime, any day, anywhere, but only with her.

Walking to the kitchen, she found him at the island, sitting on a stool, and drinking coffee. He smiled as she rounded the corner and went to the coffee machine. “I love you, you know. Neither one of us have much family to speak of. Pete and Clair are here, so are your friends Cindy and her husband. We can’t go back to Colorado. What do you say to us getting married here on New Year’s Eve?”

Briah continued to make her coffee, thinking about Aiden’s idea. She knew how much she loved him and he her. Still, it was a big step after so much distance, heartache, and time. When she didn’t answer right away, Aiden got up, picked up the small box next to his hand and stood behind her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.

The look Briah witnessed on his face almost made her cry. It was pure love, calm and radiating. His hand came to caress her cheek. He spoke softly. “A few days before that punk tried to kill you, I did some shopping. I knew exactly what I wanted and it was you. You’re everything to me. I love everything about you.

“I carried this around with me waiting for the perfect time to ask you to marry me. When I walked into the hospital I thought, this is it. I’m not waiting another minute. Life is far too fragile and too many crazy things can happen.

“When Brice called me into the empty room and delivered his speech to me, I put this back in the box and left it in my drawer. Pete’s phone call to me had me rifling through my drawer again to find it.” He dropped down to his knee and held her legs to his face in an awkward hug. Briah placed her hands on the top of his head and smoothed his hair with her fingers, smiling. His face was crotch height and he looked up and said, “God how I love to be right here.”

“That’s so romantic, darling. I love how you just threw that in there,” she giggled.

“Sorry,” he murmured, shaking his head slightly to rid his mind of the naughty thought. “Marrying you is the only thing in this world I want to do. The only thing I care about. If you would honor me with this, I could die a happy man. Will you please marry me, Briah Spencer?”

Briah’s hand cupped his cheek as she felt the goose bumps spread over her skin. She wanted to keep that look on his face forever. His hand held the sparkling outward symbol of their inside connection. She said softly, “In the entire world, there is no one I would rather spend my life with. I love you. I want to marry you. So, I say yes, Aiden Baldwin. I would love to marry you.”

As she stood at the cash register, opening it for the days’ purchases, she kept staring at the new and stunning ring on the third finger of her left hand. So engrossed in looking at her hand, she didn’t notice Tom walking up behind her. “Is that an engagement ring I see?” he said gazing at the dazzling ring.

“It is,” Briah said grinning.

“When did this happen? Do I know the extremely lucky man?”

“This morning and no you don’t.”

“Have you set a date?”

“He mentioned New Year’s Eve, but I had to leave for work so we haven’t really discussed it yet.”

“Do you want to get married here? I can make arrangements for you. A snowy backdrop. Maybe up on the mountain. I know how you feel about the mountain.”

“I actually like the sound of that. Sunrise on the mountain. Start of a new day and a new life. I’ll suggest it to Aiden. See what he says. Thanks, Tom,” she said, hugging him. She pulled away just as the phone rang. “Good morning, Mount Mansfield Sports. How can I help you?” Briah said cheerfully.

“Yes, good morning to you, miss. I was wondering what time you would be closing today?” the man’s voice said.

“We’re open until five today and every day. Can I help you with finding something?”

“No thank you. I just needed to know how much time I had. Thank you and have a nice day,”

“Thank you and you have a great day too. We look forward to having you stop in,” Briah said hanging up. She went back to her set up routine.

Roland pressed end on his phone and placed it back on the console. He thought that with the holiday, they might close early but that was evidently not the case. He had booked his flight back to Denver for the day after Christmas. Sadly, for Miss Spencer, that meant she had some thirty hours or so to live.

Briah took her first run of the day in the bright sunshine. It was a crisp and glorious day, absolutely perfect for skiing. The snow was fluffy and spread perfectly, never sticking to her skis. It was fast too, so the paying patrons would certainly get their money’s worth today.

Briah posted the excellent conditions and went back to her office to look over scheduling for the next week. If she and Aiden got married on New Year’s Eve, there was no way she was coming into work on New Year’s Day, or that weekend either. She wanted at least a few days off to be lost in her new husband. “Damn,” she complained aloud.

“What’s wrong?” Tom asked, sticking his head in her office doorway.

“If Aiden and I do get married next week, I will need coverage for my shift. I’ll want the weekend off. It doesn’t look like that will be possible,” she frowned at her computer screen.

“You let me worry about that. If you want to get married next week, you’ll get married next week. I’ll get the coverage if I have to call my grandmother and have her come in. You’re family Cherie, and we take care of family here. Make your plans,” he smiled.

“Thank you, Tom, really. I’m so happy right now. I’m sailing down the mountain on a perfect day like today. That’s how happy I am.”

“Good, you deserve to be that happy. Now plan your wedding for whenever you want,” he said with a wink. Briah smiled back and picked up her office phone and dialed.

“Hey beautiful. To what do I owe this phone call?” Aiden said.

“I just spoke with my boss, Tom, about us getting married on New Year’s Eve. He said to go ahead if we want. I’m calling to ask if you were serious about that.”

“Deadly serious. I’d marry you today if we could find someone to do it. I figured Christmas Eve, people are busy. I don’t even want to wait a week, but I will. I know you want some kind of a celebration. So, baby, let’s do it.”

“Okay, we have a date. Tom offered to have it here. He even said up on the mountain. I would really like that. Then we could have dinner and cake in the midway lodge.”

“Sounds perfect. Whatever you want baby, I’ll be there. I love you, so very much. You take my breath away.”

“Okay, New Year’s Eve on the mountain. I’ll marry the man I love in the place I love. That does sound perfect, doesn’t it? I’ll be home around six. Bye, baby.”

“I have some Christmas shopping to do today. I’m just leaving now. See you tonight,” he said hanging up.

“Shit, Christmas presents! Oh, crap! I forgot Christmas presents. What am I going to get for Aiden? Pete, Clair and the kids?” Briah said exasperated. She closed her eyes trying to think of how she could leave for a few hours to shop. Then it hit her, the lodge had gift shops as well as a Ralph Lauren Polo shop. She would find nice things there for them. This might be her first lunch hour where she actually left her office.

Briah found hoodies, hats, and Suncloud sunglasses for the kids. She bought a Go Pro Camera for Pete and Clair. Aiden was harder because the shops didn’t have any ‘I’m so in love with you I can’t stand still’ presents. She settled for two beautiful cashmere sweaters and a pair of lined black-leather driving gloves that looked hot in her estimation.

The ladies who worked in the shops were kind enough to wrap everything with gorgeous paper and bows. Truth be told, Briah wasn’t very good at wrapping presents. Holding several bags, she walked back to her car and placed them in her trunk.

The man drinking coffee from his thermos noticed her holiday merriment. He wondered who the presents were for and if she would live to give them out. He tried to imagine someone crying over receiving the gift posthumously. The agony of holding the very last thing she purchased in your hands. He smiled at the thought. “Maybe I’ll just take them and spare them the anguish altogether,” he murmured to himself.

Briah finished all of her regular duties plus a few extra. All of the employees with children left early. The ones still at work were single or married with no holiday obligations. The staff would swap on New Year’s Eve, when the single staff could leave early to party. That would be her, too. She was planning a primarily private party.

Working the crick out of her neck, she walked swiftly to her car, after locking up. She couldn’t wait to get home to celebrate with Aiden. The dark colored car that was always parked a few rows away from her car, was there once more. Its driver increasingly vigilant in watching her every move.

When she pulled into her driveway, Aiden came out of her house to meet her. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her. As he set her on her feet he whispered, “God, I missed you today. I thought about you all day long and I couldn’t wait for you to get home.”

“It was the same for me all day,” she said placing a sweet kiss on his lips. “Can we go in? I’m cold and starving!”

“I lit the fire and made dinner. Come on and get warmed while I finish,” he said, holding her hand as they walked inside.

Roland watched them from across the street. He put his car in drive, figuring tonight wasn’t going to be the night. Tomorrow, one way or the other, she was done.